In 1995, an animation studio called Pixar released Toy Story, a tale that chronicled what toys do when no one is around.  The movie featured the loyal and charismatic Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks),  whose alpha-toy status is threatened when his owner receives a bright and shiny Buzz Lightyear toy for  his birthday.  The movie became an instant classic, and earned over $360M  worldwide.  Pixar also became the gold standard for animation and storytelling.

The sequel, Toy Story 2, was released in 1999, and earned over $485 Million. Now, over 11 years later, Pixar finally unveils Toy Story 3.  Rest assured, the movie is worth the wait.  Pixar builds on its impeccable track record with yet another beautifully written and animated story that will appeal to kids and adults alike.

From one parent to another- clean the toy room out before you go see this. Throwing away toys after seeing this is tantamount to killing a bunny or stomping on a butterfly. You’ll feel like a cold-blooded killer.

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Welcome to this week’s On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage this week. Let is know if we missed something.

The Last Airbender may be another M. Night letdown, but at least it will have cool looking creatures.

Time to high five the 13 year old you, the lightsaber is finally real.

Andy Leipzig is a nerd like us. The difference is he uses it in some really cool art.

Guillermo Del Toro walked away from The Hobbit. Why? Because he totally digs vampires.

Remember the oil spill episode of Saved By The Bell? If not, here are the things you should remember. Maybe they’ll help us today.

Talk about life after death, it seems that Conan’s upcoming stint on TBS may be better than his NBC days ever were.

Who wouldn’t want to see a Japanese remake of Ghost? Oh….everybody.

Will Smith is already pimping Men in Black 3D, reminding us that parents still just don’t understand.

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If like me, you have survived the onslaught of witty repartee between Iron Man and War Machine, time standing still in Robin Hood, and the hot mess of CGI and Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia then you are ready for what awaits you in June. Make no mistake, you may not have the monster in Manolo’s, otherwise known as Carrie Bradshaw, to suffer through but you do have a mêlée of 80’s rehashes that studios happily throw money at.

So, suit up, grab your popcorn, and prepare yourself for the next adventure that await you.

JUNE

June 4th

Ondine

Were you expecting a description of The A Team perhaps? At this point, anyone who is seeing The A Team on Friday already has their tickets, and even my words of wisdom will be unable to stop them. Instead I’ll spotlight a film that deserves attention.

Ondine is an independent film starring Colin Farrell as a fisherman who pulls up a beautiful woman in his nets. His sick, precocious daughter believes she is a Selkie, a Scottish seal who becomes a human wife on land. Time will tell if she is really as she seems.

Geekiness Factor: As a fairytale set in the modern era, it combines Splash and Heroes with a dose of romanticism and second chances. This movie works because it doesn’t use CGI, in fact the only special effects it uses comes from your very own imagination in overdrive. Its sense of wonder on faith, entrances you back to a time when you still believed in Santa Claus.

Screen Steamer: Colin Farrell has served me a heap of B movie bad boy charm in past films like The Recruit, S.W.A.T., not to mention a harmonious turn in Crazy Heart. Here he takes off his shirt only once, but seems well cast as a fisherman down on his luck and striving to be sober. Alicja Bachleda keeps you guessing as Ondine, which means “from the water.” She is alluring with a subtle sensuality in ocean soaked dresses, only coming up for air to coyly flirt with a scruffy Colin.

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Let’s be honest, we’ve played a lot of videogame adaptations of hit movie franchises here at The Flickcast, as we’re sure you have. And, let’s face it, they tend to not be of the highest quality. While I’ve played both games adapted from Toy Story and Toy Story 2, one on Genesis when I was seven and the other on PC when I was twelve, I was not excited for either of them as much as I’m excited for Avalanche Software’s Toy Story 3: The Videogame, especially after Kotaku posted the trailer up on their site earlier this week.

Along with some quality looking graphics and some fun gameplay featuring Woody, Buzz, and the gang, the trailer for Toy Story 3: The Videogame shows off the game’s innovative “Toy Box” mode, where you can create and customize your own levels and play through them with your favorite Toy Story characters. This feature looks incredibly in-depth, with the ability to place buildings, space aliens, or cowboys on racetracks, shooting ranges, or rainbow-colored paths in the jungle.

Toy Story 3 climbs out of the toy box and into theaters on June 18th, but you can pick up Toy Story 3: The Videogame on June 15th for Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii, PSP, and Nintendo DS on June 15th. While you’re anxiously waiting like the small child you once were when the first Toy Story film was released, you can watch the trailer for the game after the jump.

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Though Disney should consider their upcoming sequel to the smash hits Toy Story and Toy Story 2 an immediate success, it’s still nice to see that they aren’t pulling any stops with marketing. Even more surprising is that they’re actually going viral.

Nothing can really compare to some of the great viral marketing campaigns of past films like The Dark Knight, Cloverfield, or District 9, which all did pretty well in the box office. It seems that Disney is taking a different approach with two new trailers for the film.

In both trailers, you’re misdirected until the last 15 seconds of each promo into believing that you’re seeing a trailer for a new horror film or a commercial for some sleek new car. Ironically, you’re actually seeing two new trailers for Toy Story 3, which hits theaters in IMAX and Disney 3D on July 23rd.

Check both out after the jump and let us know what you think.

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I remember being seven years old, sitting in the movie theater and watching the very first trailer for the original Toy Story. I was in awe. So it’s no real surprise that, in my twenties, I’m still just as awed and excited for all the footage I see for the third installment of the Toy Story franchise. So far we’ve seen a few trailers, gotten a glimpse at some new characters, and more. You’re in luck, because today we have a brand-new clip of Toy Story 3 for you to enjoy.

In this short-but-great clip, we meet the infamous Ken (played by Michael Keaton), and watch as he and Barbie (Jodi Benson) fall in love at first sight. And what better way to fall in love than to Gary Wright’s “Dream Weaver”? Ken also gives Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the toy gang a tour of their new home, Sunnyside Daycare. Along the way they see some new faces, such as Lot’s-O Huggin-Bear (Ned Beatty) who we introduced you to a while back.

Check out the small sneak peak at the world of Toy Story and Sunnyside Daycare after the jump, and be sure to catch Toy Story 3 in theaters and IMAX 3D on June 18th.

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About a month ago, we brought you news of the first new character to be revealed from Disney’s upcoming Toy Story 3. His name was Mr. Prickelpants, and he was a porcupine in lederhosen, voiced by Timothy Dalton. As if the characters couldn’t get any better than that, we just got word of the next four to be revealed.

Disney has even gone as far as to give descriptions of each new toy, staying in the context of the Toy Story Universe. Each of our favorites are still back, including Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz, Wallace Shawn as T. Rex, and John Ratzenberger as Piggy Bank.

Check out each of the descriptions, with exclusive new pics, after the jump. Catch Toy Story 3 in theaters and IMAX across the country on June 18th.

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This week in New York City, the annual Toy Fair convention hits the Jacob Javits Center and thousands of new and popular toys and toy properties are shown off. There were, of course, some less-than-interesting booths, but we know what you want to see, so we went straight to the newest lines of toys and statues based on some of the upcoming movie and TV properties.

Obviously, Toy Story 3 had a huge presence at the show, given the fact that it’s the best hybrid of toys and film out there today. Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland had some great new figures of the whacked out Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. LEGO stepped up their game with some brand new LEGO Star Wars playsets, including a great “Luke on Hoth” scene.

Diamond was also in attendence with some great new Ghostbusters products, including a new Ghostbusters replica sign for those hardcore fans. Finally, there were some great new 12-inch figures for the upcoming Jonah Hex film, including our first look at John Malkovich from the film.

Check out our Movie Toys picture gallery from the show after the jump, and be sure to check back in tomorrow to see what else we’ve got to show you from this year’s Toy Fair.

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While more than half of the people gearing up for this weekend’s Super Bowl XLIV will be more excited for the commercials, we unfortunately won’t be getting as many movie trailers as we are hoping to see. It’s been reported that Paramount, Disney, and Universal are the only studios buying time to promote their upcoming films during Sunday’s broadcast.

During the last two Super Bowl games, studios amped up their marketing and promoted 9 films over the course of the game, while we’ll only be seeing ads for 7 films this Sunday. Paramount will be buying ads to promote Shutter Island, and The Last Airbender, leaving Iron Man 2 out in the cold.

Disney, who promoted films like Up and Race to Witch Mountain last year will be focusing more on Toy Story 3, Alice In Wonderland, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Meanwhile, Universal will be setting up promotion for The Wolfman, Robin Hood, and their 3D animated pic Despicable Me.

While it’s still mostly speculation that these films will get Super Bowl spots, it’s been confirmed that Overture bought time to promote The Crazies and Sony bought time for Bounty Hunter. Warner Bros and Fox will sit this one out, as they have since 2008.

Though we may be getting less movie trailers than previous games, this will be a big year for commercials. There are more than 60 spots that have been slotted for this year’s game, where last year’s telecast fell just short. This Sunday will be an entertaining show, for sports fans and entertainment fans alike.

While Disney may be closing it’s doors to one of their studios, we can expect to see plenty more from the giant as they plan for one of their biggest release years in some time. First up may be Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, but where some fans may be excited for that, there are many more for the upcoming Toy Story 3.

The upcoming sequel will be the first time that Pixar and Disney would return to the franchise since 1999, and nearly 15 years since it got kick-started with the first film. The whole gang will be back this time, with the exception of Jim Varney, who passed in 2000.

This time around, the toys find a new home as Andy moves to college. They find out what life is like from the clutches of toddlers in a day care…and it’s not pretty. With a script from Little Miss Sunshine’s Michael Arndt, the film is set for a release (in both IMAX and Disney’s trademarked 3-D) on June 8th.

In the meantime, check out some neat new character posters for the film, starring some of our favorite toys, after the jump.

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While the name does sound pretty imaginary, the character is quite real, and will be voiced by an even more real actor, Timothy Dalton. Fresh from playing the big bad in the Christmas Special of BBC’s Doctor Who, Dalton will be taking on one of his most difficult roles yet: a porcupine in lederhosen named Mr. Pricklepants.

We’ve already gotten a glimpse at the very first trailer, as well as an extended clip from the film. Now we get a new special preview, with words from director Lee Unkrich. In the film, the story picks up years later, as Andy is getting ready to move to college. He makes the decision to get rid of his toys by donating them to a daycare. From there we get to see what kind of a nightmare toddlers can be from the perspective of toys.

Check out the featurette after the jump, be sure to catch more previews of brand new characters as they come our way. All getting you ready for Toy Story 3 in theaters and IMAX on June 18th.

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Disney-Pixar’s Toy Story 3 looks more and more amazing with each new footage we get to see. The film seems to be retaining everything we loved about the previous adventures, while feeling fresh enough to captivate both old and new fans. While this extended clip was supposed to air on ABC during a special airing of The Incredibles, it has now found it’s way onto the web for your repeat and/or enjoyment.

Without spoiling anything, it looks like the third film in the Toy Story franchise will center around Andy going away to college, and how Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), and the rest of the toy gang deal with a now uncertain future.

Toy Story 3 will be in theaters and IMAX 3D on June 18th. In the meantime, check out the new clip after the jump, thanks to our pals at ComingSoon.net, introduced by director Lee Unkrich.

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